Rabbi Yitzchak Grossman's Migdal Ohr Institutions' numerous activities were recently celebrated at an Annual Dinner in Manhattan. The Institutions located in Migdal Ha'emek in the Lower Galilee serve over 7,000 underprivileged students, and locations throughout Israel serve many more.

A recipient of the prestigious Israel Prize, Rabbi Grossman has earned the respect of a wide range of people and of the Israeli government for his numerous programs for troubled youth. Dr. Paul Brody, member of the Founder's Board of the American Friends of Migdal Ohr, and his wife Drora, introduced Rabbi Grossman to New York's Great Neck Community in 1994. Dr. Brody, who helped organize the American Friends Young Leadership Division, also brought Rabbi Grossman to Chicago in 1988, where the Rav "captured the hearts of the city," when Dr. Brody served his Dermatology Residency at Cook County Hospital.

Rabbi Grossman, known as the "Disco Rabbi" for his willingness to approach Jews in discos and other locations to help rescue them from troubled social conditions, is a sixth-generation Jerusalemite.

In 1968 Rabbi Grossman moved to Migdal Ha'emek to provide socio-humanitarian aid to the newly established community. 4 years later he founded Migdal Ohr ("Tower of Light") to provide education and social guidance to children from underprivileged and troubled homes around Israel.

The Institutions aim to transform students from drug and crime backgrounds into proud and productive Israeli citizens, through programs including Day Care Centers, School systems, an Occupational Training Center, and prisoner rehabilitation programs at Israeli prisons which boast a 10% recidivism rate, as opposed to the 90% rate among the general prison population.

Hareidi-religious Rabbi Grossman has also been outstanding in his support for the IDF.

In 2012 during the Second Lebanon War, he hosted an entire paratrooper unit at his facilities, praying for their safety throughout the war. Incredibly none of the unit was wounded in the war according to reports.

Rabbi Grossman's high popularity and support led to talk of his candidacy for Chief Ashkenazic Rabbi. In August he decided not to run for the position, which Rabbi David Lau later received.

In the photo above: Dr. Brody, along with his wife Drora, introduced Rav Grossman to the Great Neck Community in 1994 and is shown holding a photo of the Rabbi with their three oldest children, with Liat in the center.